Family Musings

Today, I'm guest posting over at Chic Critique . If you love me (or at least like to read more about beauty products), you'll go over there and leave me a comment about how insightful and funny I am! Oh, my post is a review of the Ped Egg .

As a kid, I devoured the choose-your-own adventure books. I would choose one adventure then go back and pick a different one, until I had exhausted all of the options. And if for some reason I missed a section, I would go back and read it, just for fun. I know, I was a weird kid! And now, imagine how surprised I was when I found out they made DVDs in the choose-your-own adventure style! I had no idea it was even possible. I received a copy of TripFLIX as a member of Team Mom and finally had a chance to sit down and watch it. It was pretty cool. The first menu lets you choose a region of the US to start a road trip. I picked the South, since I live there and figured I'd have an idea of how accurate it was. Then, you pick an ending destination. I picked the South again because I was short on time. My journey started with a visit to the Orioles baseball stadium, hosted by teenagers Alex and Emily. Then, we had some SC trivia before moving onto visiting Rock City. The hosts are friend...

Quick! Look of the top left portion of your screen? See anything new up there? Yep! That's right, I created and inserted my own favicon. I followed the easy-peasy instructions at Blogger Buster and now I have added to my brand recognition! Thanks Blogger Buster!

As you probably know (unless you live under a rock), there are a whole heckuva lot of gi veaways going on right now. And while I'm trying to be a good momma, I've been a little busy participating in this festival of free. So... no original blog post for now. Get thee over to the Carnival and enter to win some freebies. Oh, and we are going to our first play group this morning! I promise to post about it later... once I've entered all the giveaways!

This giveaway is closed. Winners will be announced later this weekend. I've definitely been on the giveaway wagon recently and am glad to be participating in the Fall Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. For this giveaway, I have FOUR (yes, you read that right - 4 winners!) full-price coupons for a new cereal from General Mills. Per their marketing, this cereal " combines great-tasting chocolatey puffs with vanilla puffs, a classic combination that kids love. Even better, Cocoa Puffs Combos is made with whole grain and is a good source of Calcium and Vitamin D." I love cereal. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack in between all of those. I am particularly fond of Lucky Charms. The crunchy combined with the sweet marshmallows gets me every time. All you have to do to enter is tell me what your favorite cereal is and leave some way for me to contact you, either through a blog or e-mail. This giveaway is open to US residents only (because I don't think t...

For the past week, every time I found my brain slipping into my habit of thinking obsessing about the next meal, I remembered the verse I shared with you last week. It was such a blessing for me to have Jesus' words as an anchor when I began to get myself into mental trouble over food. For this week's meditation, I wanted to think more about how God abundantly provides for the needs of those called by him. I remembered the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 and decided to read it again, with fresh eyes.  Here are verses 12-14, which is what I want to concentrate on for this meditation. When they were full, He told His disciples, "Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted." So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, "This really is the Prophet who was to come into the world!" Therefore, when Jesus knew that ...

We have less than 2 weeks left until I become the mom of a toddler. I can hardly believe that almost an entire year has passed since I labored to bring her into this world. She has accomplished so much in this short amount of time and I have been thrilled to share all of her milestones with you. While I continue to plan her birthday celebration , I'd like to ask all of my readers to share a piece of advice, a touching memory, or a funny story about her (or her parents), with Charlotte for her to enjoy when she is old enough to understand, and then again when she is really old enough to understand. You can leave her a note in a comment to this post or write her a note by your own hand. But whatever you do, you have 12 days left to get it done. I'll be the mom of a toddler then and she will no longer be Baby Sabin!

Today, my parents treated us to lunch at Mimi's Cafe, and then took Charlotte for almost 2 hours while hubby and I got to stroll around Ikea and look for birthday presents and shelving for our home. They are as excited about her now as they were when she arrived almost 1 year ago.

It's Lovely, I'll Take It - If you are interested in how to sell a house, then this blog is for you. You can learn what NOT to do in choosing your listing's photographs. Keyword Rich Articles - If you are writing in order to have Google traffic come and find you, then this should be the next thing you read. I'm going to brush up on my SEO skills as well. July Write-Away Winners - I didn't enter Michelle's writing contest this month, but her winning entry sure made me feel like Wonder Woman! Activities for Baby - This list of things will be keeping us busy for the next 12 months! A Love for Missions Starts at Home - I am so far from the kind of mom I need to be to help Charlotte be part of a new generation of zealots, but I am working on it.

Inspired by Esme's mommy , I did a google search for "Charlotte Needs" just to find out what she might be needing right now. Here are the top 13 results: Charlotte needs YOU. She needs you to love her and to comment on her mommy's blog. Really, go ahead, leave a comment. :) Charlotte needs volunteers. Maybe she is organizing a big birthday party for her daddy and needs to recruit some help? Charlotte needs repairs. Is she broken? You'd think I would know that! What does she need repaired? Charlotte needs to control fans. Well, she does like to stare at the fans and the lights in the ceiling. And I bet if she could reach them, she'd have fun turning the wall switches on and off. Charlotte needs mass transit, like, now. Yeah, totally dude. Let's ditch the cars and save the earth! Charlotte needs to look beyond banks. Of course, she is storing her treasures up in heaven . Charlotte needs to tell. "Go tell it on the mountain. Over the hills and ever...

This giveaway is closed. Winners will be announced later this weekend. Warning: Since I typically have a family-friendly blog, I want to let my readers know that this post is not safe for little eyes. Have you ever sat down with a new friend and found you stayed up way too late talking about every subject under the sun? Discussing religion, careers, and yes, even sex, even though you've only known each other for a very short period of time? That is what it was like for me to read Note to Self - On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits , by Samara O'Shea. Once I started it, I felt like Samara and I were just hanging out on my couch, sipping decaf lattes and having a conversation. (Okay, Samara might be sipping something harder, but I'm still nursing.) It was that easy to read. The basic premise of her newest book is teaching people how to write in a journal, by sharing her own journal entries. Personally, she wrote for therapy, sharing "A journal is an effecti...

I learned an important lesson this week... don't let someone else host the images that comprise your blog design! I still haven't heard from Mia at The Blog Cafe despite contacting her through 3 different channels. I guess she is no longer in the blog design business. So, while I hang out with the Minima Blogger template for now, any suggestions for where I can create my own blog design for free?

Last week, I made my first practice cake for Charlotte's 1st birthday (it's less than 3 weeks away!). I am mainly focusing on the way the cake looks since I've never had any trouble making a boxed cake taste good. Tonight, I made my second attempt. This time we are using Carrot Cake with a buttercream frosting between the layers and as a crumb coat around the rest of the cake. I've seen the pros on the Food Network Challenges do this, so I did it too. Next, I added my cornflower blue dye to the fondant and put it on a cookie sheet to knead. I completely and totally underestimated how hard it would be to knead the fondant. I coated my hands and the sheet with confectioner's sugar, per the fondant box instructions. I forgot to check my mom's cabinets for a rolling pin before I began this experiment and then when I did (after I dyed the fondant), I found she didn't have one. So, I improvised. The can of cooking spray did a fine job of rolling out the fondant...

This giveaway is closed. Winners will be announced later this weekend. EDIT: I've decided to extend this giveaway until July 30th in order to include it in the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I found a new website for printing 250 free business cards. It is called Giggle Print and is a lot like Vista Print, only I thought the choices for the free cards were a little more fun. This afternoon I ordered my free cards in a simple swirl design. I designed them to be my new Mommy Calling Cards. It took less than 10 minutes total and I only had to pay $5.25 for shipping and handling. Then, when my order was complete, I was given a Giggle Print coupon code for 25% off my next order (GPU001). I liked it so much, that, in a completely random move, I've decided to pay the cost of US shipping for one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment below saying you want into the drawing. I will randomly select 1 person by Friday night. All the winner will have to do is forward me their rece...

I've decided to begin a new series of posts in which I will share my meditations on certain passages of Scripture. Specifically, I want to start by looking at passages that deal with our bodies and how God tells us to care for them. Since I as a teenager, I've had issues with controlling my weight, mostly because I have not been able to control my eating habits. I shared with my husband this morning that I am often planning when, what, and where the next meal will be. It is taking mental energy away from higher pursuits and I need to get this part of my thought life under control. That is why I have chosen this passage for Week #1: "This is why I tell you: Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: they don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth mor...

I've wanted to get a slightly new style for a while now. Finally, last weekend, Bruce agreed to push Charlotte around the mall in a stroller while I gave my locks some TLC. Misty, at JC Penney's, gave me this cut, and I think it is cute and fun. Plus, she showed me how to tame the new baby hair growing at the front of my hairline. My hair will always have a little frizz, and I am coming to terms with that, but it is nice to know how to smooth out the front parts so I can make a decent first impression. Do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of the back of your head?!

While we were on vacation in June, our family visited the First Baptist Church of Charlottesville. This is the church in which Lottie Moon Diggs, our daughter's namesake , was baptized. It was a special day trip for us for sentimental reasons. We took several pictures and I am glad to finally have a chance to share them with you. Inside the sanctuary, this church has plaques commemorating several past members of their congregation. After we stopped into the church office, they took us to see the plaque for Lottie Moon. Next, we visited the Lottie Moon Prayer Garden. It was a peaceful place surrounded by tall trees. There is a commemorative stone across from the bench. The plaque on the bench reads: Born Dec. 12, 1840 at Viewmont in Southern Albemarle County. Accepted Christ as Savior and was baptized at First Baptist Church, Charlottesville, VA on December 22, 1858. Accepted God's call to missions in China. Departed for the mission field Sept. 1, 1873 and served fait...

Apparently, the Photobucket account that hosted my background images has exceeded its bandwidth. I've contacted the designer and hopefully we can get a solution in place soon. Until then, Blogger Minima it is!

We've been trying to catch Charlotte doing this on camera for a while now. No one taught her this skill (that we know of), she just figured it out on her own. Then, the smiles and laughter came, so she kept doing it! In this clip, Bruce is feeding her strawberry yogurt.

The other day Charlotte fell asleep in my lap. The moment was so precious that I didn't want to forget it, so in good blogger fashion, I am memorializing it right here, right now. I know some day Charlotte won't want to climb up on my lap and take a nap. Some day she will beg me to have the car keys so she can go visit a friend. But for now, I am savoring the moments like this that we share together.

I found several things that I wanted to share with you this week, but managed to narrow it down to 5 for your blog-reading pleasure. Expatriates in Asia - Erica describes with words and video what it is like for her young daughters living in Asia. Why I Stay Home - Babychaser reminded me why I chose to be a stay-at-home-mother. How to Hear the Word of God - I can't link to everything John Piper writes, so I try to just pick the best. This one spoke to me personally so it is the one I decided to share. How Church Should Be - Since we are currently looking for a new church, this one really hit me. I wish we could find a place like this in our new town! Finding a new church is so hard. Blogger Tutorials - Everything you ever wanted to know about hacking your Blogger template can be found at this site. I could never take advantage of all the information it contains.

Bruce called me into my parent's bedroom the other day because he had lost Charlotte? Confused as could be, I ran in. This is what I saw: He thought it was hilarious that Charlotte matched their bedspread.

I have less than a month until my little girl celebrates her 1st birthday. I know she won't remember it and will just have pictures and my blog to commemorate it, but I still want it to be special. To that end, I baked a cake recently so I could practice decorating it. It is a chocolate cake with white frosting, which I dyed cornflower blue. I used some fondant writing thing to make my letters. Mostly, I just wanted to see if I could pull off my idea with regular frosting. Fondant is cool, but seems complicated and expensive. Here is the cake I made: Here is the cake I want to actually make for the big day. It was made and designed by Charm City Cakes in Baltimore. I plan to make the stars, moon, and cow out of card stock or poster board and then stick them in with skewers. Have any of you tried fondant? Do you have any tips? Can a beginner really pull it off? Or do you think the cake would be just fine with regular frosting? Oh, and as for the actual cake Charlotte wil...

We are blessed to have so many toys that Charlotte can keep some at both our home and her grandparents. I just can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!

I've been meaning to share a great new site with you for a week or so now and can't believe it has taken me this long! (Actually, I can... I am still unpacking boxes and assembling furniture.) NewBaby.com was unveiled at the beginning of the month and is an excellent source of information for new mothers. And it isn't just for babies. It has information starting with pregnancy all the way through 4 years old, and a special section for moms. However, what sets this site apart from BabyCenter.com or any of the other parenting sites is it's focus on videos. Maria Bailey, one of the founding moms, really wanted to create a place on the web for parents to share videos with those relatives too far away to experience our children in person. She wrote on her first blog post for NewBaby.com: Just think, now you can record your baby's first word on your webcam, upload it to your Newbaby Video Gallery and share it with your partner, grandparents or distant family members....

I love reading Janel's blog . Recently, she shared her results on the 1930's Marital Scale. I took the test just now, with my husband beside me to keep me honest, and this is how it came up: 86 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test! It might have been higher, but I wear red nail polish! Put it on my toes just before July 4th! Then, I had Bruce take the husband's version of the test, and this is how he scored: 140 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test! Apparently, he would have been a better spouse in 1930 than I! I'm glad I snagged him in 1998.

Today is a great day for free food. First, we stopped in this morning and I got a free 7.11 oz slurpee from 7-11. (I didn't take this picture while driving!) Then, we headed over to the local Chick-fil-a for a free entree. I had a silly cow hat and some cow stickers we had picked up there a few days ago. I put the hat on my head and some stickers on my shirt. Then, since Charlotte was just in a plain, white onesie, I stuck a few stickers on her. When we got inside we did get some funny looks. There were no signs in the place and no one else was dressed like a cow, or in cow accessories like us. Oh well... I'm used to being the different one. The manager said that Charlotte could get a free kid's meal, which I wasn't expecting. She has never had Chick-fil-a and had already eaten breakfast, so I am saving her's for lunch. I was also surprised that the manager said I could have a free meal too. I really only expected to get an entree. I think he was so nice because the...

I think I might just plan to share some great links on a regular, weekly basis. There is so much out there in blog land that I think is worthy, I just have to share it with you. I'll try to keep it to my top 5 though so you don't get overwhelmed. Here are my links for this week" The Pleasure of Doing Dishes - Sometimes we get so caught up in the big things, we need friends like Rachel to remind us of the joy in the little things. The Payoff - Not everyone in my life understands attachment parenting. This post highlights one of the potential benefits that I am looking forward too. Interceding For Our Children - I have shared this site before, but it has been a really long time. Each week I am reminded of another way to pray scripture over Charlotte. Blog Do's and Don'ts - I pretty much agree with everything Esme's mommy says about keeping a blog on the must read list. Be sure to let me know if I am breaking any of these rules.

Deleted: I wasn't sure if it came off like a pity party or pride.

I don't know why I keep posting about all of this free stuff... but it just would be so exciting for me or someone I know to get it. This one is easy too. All you have to do is go to Chick-Fil-A on July 11th dressed like a cow, or at least try. If you do, you get free food - an entree for trying and an entire meal if you are dressed head-to-toe! Click here for more info. I'm planning on hanging out with my brother that day and getting him dressed up for some free food too! Heck, I'll even join Crystal and post pictures!

Charlotte just took her first steps... 3 of them... in a row... from Mommy to Daddy... all on her own! No video of course... but I'll try to get some in the next few days to share!

Today, Charlotte's 5th tooth broke through. If you've ever had a baby then you know the idea of me sharing a picture with you is hilarious!

When I woke up today, my first thought was, "oh my, I only have 1 month left until my baby is a year old!" How can it be that almost an entire year has gone by since Charlotte arrived? I vaguely remember last summer and now can't imagine life without diapers and baby toys strewn about the living room. As I sat nursing Charlotte last night I was amazed at how much she has grown and changed... and that is just in the month that I have been at home with her. Last night she toyed with the idea of taking a step unassisted and I could see the glee in her face as she contemplated it. Everything is new to her and she makes me see everything in a new light too. I suppose I need to start planning her first birthday party. I have no idea what it will consist of, but I have been doing some searching to find things that I think Charlotte would enjoy. If you were thinking of buying her a gift... here are some options: Or how about a tutu? Note: This list is my personal list and for...

I love Publix. My favorite paid job in the whole world, was working as a cashier at Publix. My husband worked there too, but I didn't care for him much back then. Anyway, they have a game going on right now to win free groceries for a year (awarded in $2500 worth of gift cards)! I could really use that right about now. If you live in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, or Tennessee, you should click over and try to win yourself. They are also giving away a limited number of $8 gift cards. I'd be happy with that too. Oh, and if you win the year's worth of groceries, I expect you to invite me over for dinner at least once! You can enter once a day. Good luck!

Noah, who writes at The Life of a SAHM , shared this list and her results recently and I thought it would be fun to do the same. Let's see how I stack up. According to The Big Read , the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books on their list. The instructions: Look at the list and bold those you have read. Italicize those you intend to read Underline the books you LOVE Reprint this list in your own Blog. 1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6. The Bible 7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8. 1984 - George Orwell 9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott 12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 14. Complete Works of Shakespeare 15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier 16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien 17. Birdsong - Sebastian Fa...

Even though I deleted most of my breastfeeding blogs from my reader, I might still write about it every now and again. Charlotte is 10 1/2 months now and isn't really showing much sign of slowing down either. Though, I would be happy to give up some daytime feedings. Hopefully, we can work towards some daytime weaning now that I am going to be home with her full time and can more closely monitor her food intake. In the mean time... these comics are funny. Click for a larger image to read.

Thanks to my friend's Tess suggestion, I decided to let Charlotte have a try at the good ol' crayons and coloring book. $2 at the dollar store should provide us lots of entertainment in the weeks to come. 1st time with crayons from Jennifer S on Vimeo .

Now that I am home with Charlotte all day, I am striving to find the best routine possible for both of us. So far, that has included a walk each morning after she has had a dirty diaper. (TMI? That's okay, you don't have to change the diapers!) Charlotte has been very verbose this week and wanted you to come along with us... so, here is our walk, in pictures. "Mommy has me all strapped into my stroller with a supply of Cheerios, set to go. Want one?" "Here is the obligatory self-portrait. Isn't my mommy cute?" "Once we turn the corner, this is the first long sidewalk. I really like looking at the different kinds of trees." "My mommy is obsessed with keeping my fair skin fair. So she always blocks my view when we turn the corner." "Yesterday we met Della, and her dogs - Choo-Choo and Peekabo. She is a sweet grandmother from the Philippines."

This is my favorite show (which you would know if you read my life in pictures) and I just gotta say that Twitch and Kherrington oughtta win! I just wish Charlotte would go to bed a little bit earlier so I wouldn't have to miss so much of my show. Oh well, I guess that is one of the sacrifices of being a mom with out a dvr. Go Twitch-ington! Who is your favorite couple on SYTYCD? (And if you don't know what that stands for, then I can't help you.)

(For an almost 11-month old, Charlotte is very verbose. Below, she describes her day. I'll share some pictures too. Charlotte wrote this last night, but since I already had 2 posts yesterday I waited until today to share this.) This morning, I woke up a little late. Normally I am by by 7 am, but I slept all the way until 7:11! Mommy was happy for the extra 11 minutes of sleep. Once Mommy and I went downstairs, she served me a yummy breakfast of yogurt mixed with oatmeal and banana chunks. I really like that breakfast but hope she gives me some blueberries again soon. Mommy and I played on the floor for a little while. She said something about waiting for me to get a dirty diaper before we left. I looked all over, but couldn't find one to get for her. Eventually though, we went for a walk. Well, Mommy walked and I sat in the stroller. It is too hot for her to wear me right now. We visited our friend Nancy at CVS (she's the cashier) and got some good deals on stuff Mommy ...

I  hate moving! I hate having to box everything up and constantly make decisions about what to keep, giveaway, or trash. It is draining. Mentally and physically. AND I love moving! I love going through everything I own and constantly remembering the good memories that it all represents. It is draining. Emotionally and physically. BUT It is always easier when one doesn't have to actually move the boxes from one place to another. I remember the 2 times Bruce and I loaded and unloaded the moving trucks ourselves and was grateful every time I see a mover carry a box into our new place just 2 weeks ago. Several years ago, I found a one-panel comic strip that showed a moving truck decorated as if the couple had just been married. But instead of "just married" on the back, it said, "Marriage survived the move!" I can totally relate to that.

Bruce is a Biology teacher. That means that we talk about science in our house sometimes. Apparently, Charlotte has been paying attention and now I have taken to calling her my little scientist. I was inspired really though, by this post at API Speaks . She shared this quote from Jan Hunt: A two-year-old is a very curious person, always experimenting, always exploring. He is in fact, a scientist! And if you look at his activities in that way, it can change your perspective and allow creative ideas to emerge, making life easier for you and for him. I’d like to suggest an exercise to try. For one day, picture him not as a small child, but rather as a visiting scientist. Pretend this scientist is staying at your home for a day. This person needs materials to use, needs time to do his research, and will need your assistance from time to time. If we had a visiting scientist at our house, wouldn’t we feel curious ourselves as to what he is doing, and wouldn’t we feel honored to be helpin...